ZZZZ … finally got full miles in!

I started out wandering around kind of warming up in the neighborhood with the Pup-O-Rama, Ms. Bailey Boo. I very quickly hit that high level of leg pain with its associated irritability. I think a lot of it has to do with other areas of my world are just taking up a lot of time – hurry up and w-a-i-t … and that just gets me.

Training … new meaning to old word … means “getting self glued together so that races are much more fun!” I have to remember this when I’m just plain wanting to beat my head against the wall.

First things first: This Nathan Pack. As many will recall, last summer I walked into many problems due to being caught way out wherever with truly not enough water. I sweat. There’s no two ways to state it and when it’s hot, I can go through the water. Even close by here, the only water is at Bible Park if the fountains are working. Since I really don’t like having to stop all over for crossing the street, I’ve taken to places a bit more off the proverbial beaten track. The problem is, however, I really am not that comfortable with the 4 bottle Nathan belt http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/hydration_nutrition/speed_4.html (the “big brother” of my 2 bottle “security belt” http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/hydration_nutrition/speed_2.html). I keep hitting the bottles as I go along and on the front of my hips, I can feel the water sloshing. I have tried Camelbacks, but they just cut in. After one particularly frightening training walk where I found myself ENTIRELY too far out, I was talking with John S. over at Colorado Blvd. Runner’s Roost about the problem. He mentioned that a Nathan Pack built expressly for women. I was skeptical because I do not have the “dainty woman’s figure”. But … John just smiled and said “Look, we’ll order one. I need them here anyway. Give it a shot.” I was still skeptical and didn’t give it a go until I was doing the stairclimb this year. You know that thing didn’t budge.

The bladder hangs in my kitchen. A word to the wise … make sure you’ve hooked up the feeder tube to the bottom of the bladder before filling it with Gatorade Cocktails … makes quite a mess otherwise!

So – after changing clothes … (giggle) … I pulled on these pretty comfy gloves, and promised Coach Bailey Boo that do what her human counterpart Da Coach has been trying to drill in to my metamorphic rock head … I’ll walk “normally” if the pain gets above a 5.5 or 6. She watched me as I popped my phone (complete with forever full messages) into the pack … of course, where I tend to walk, if I need a ride out I’m on State of Colorado land and would have to get myself somehow back to my car which requires a pass. Need to work on this!

It was kind of chilly. I tend to overheat and freeze … that doesn’t make sense, eh? What I mean is that I start out cold — needing gloves and really needing a long sleeved shirt — but will quickly warm up. The problem with long sleeved things wearing a hydration backpack is that it’s under it. Stopping to take the thing off, stuffing it in (the Nathan has surprising storage). I didn’t fully think I was doing a full walk, but that I’d just stop, stretch, pull off the shirt then trundle off.

As I was driving out to Chatfield Reservoir, my windscreen was getting dusted with quick raindrops. I wasn’t sure what the weather was going to be like. In an effort to remedy the “I need to get back to the car but the person I’ve called to rescue me doesn’t have a parks pass” issue, I contemplated walking from just outside the park. I drove in only to figure out where about 6 miles would be for my turn around point … then found myself up at the top of the dam because a really good song came on the radio!

Ok – last year, I’d started trying to do walks off the top of the dam. There are hills to be encountered both at the start and finish, a variety of surfaces, and room to maneuver. What the heck. I got out of the car, started warming up and was at really low pain – down to 3.5. Cool.

I was in “winter” for me clothes. I found a pair of medium to heavy weight pedal pushers (Capri’s) that really do the trick for outside in the medium cold. Gloves, black long sleeved shirt, cap, and a low-mileage pair of socks. One of these days I’m going to write on socks. I walked down to where the trail started knowing that the uphill was going to be a pain when I came back after however many miles. I had Easy 13 for the schedule … and I have become determined to truly understand the word “easy” as well as the word “training”. Easy means “relaxing, no stress, and limited pain” at this point … and that’s what I was aiming for. Pain is sooo 2008! 🙂

One foot in front of the other … This felt pretty good. I probably started out too fast, but it really felt good to be outside again. Yeah it was nippy … but I had my gloves on. I also could spit and air-blow my nose! One of those things quite frowned up on when you’re working indoors is spitting and air-blowing your nose! I literally forgot the Nathan Backpack was on. It’s got some well placed pockets (oohhh that’s where I put my driver’s license!), and the hydration spout crosses the chest. I did have a few problems with the bite clip and had to drag on the water, but nothing that caused problems.

Down and up and Up and down … oohhh this is going to suck coming back! Whatever. I ended up wandering about and found a really nice route. I kept checking in with both legs because I didn’t want to limp etc. Kind of like when Hermione Granger was going to be sorted in the first Harry Potter book, I kept reminding myself “relax … you’re having fun … you’re banking miles … you get a 20 gram protein chocolate Clif when you’re done!”

I hit the roadway and … turned left. What the heck. I kind of knew where I was. I kept going along and around mile 4, pain started to settle in. The bummer, of course, was that if I’d turned around, I had 4 miles to go. A well placed guard rail afforded some stretching and I was off again. Next thing I knew, I was nearly being run over by people who must believe the white line on a curve is for them to line their hood ornament with! The Jaguar that nearly hit me as I was coming to Waterton Canyon … well … let’s just hope he gets a few rocks in the windscreen!

I was feeling OK, so I turned in to the dirt of Waterton Canyon. About the time I realized this was probably a bit of a mistake, I checked the mileage on my Garmin and I was at 6.5 miles. Nice turn about point.

Wind was starting to pick up, which meant a headwind for the way back … oh that’s no fun. I’d been sucking on a Shock Block for quite some time (and, yes, both my crowns did stay in place!) and was taking a fair amount of water through the entire walk. Maybe it’s because I actually *had it* that I did it and I knew that I actually had enough. Things were feeling kind of ooky and I popped the second half of the Clif Shot when it happened. Literally 7.9 miles (looked at the watch) my right leg said “HEY SHEP … This is what 7 feels like on a training walk in the middle of nowhere!” It didn’t grab per se, it just hurt this dead hurt feel. Ok. I’d promised two coaches … one with 4 furry legs … that I would walk any time without “penalty”.

I relaxed my arms to my sides and walked and thought. First, I checked in … I was not crippled I just was hurting. This was good. If I had to, I would walk the rest of the way back. I would try getting back in some semblance of racewalk form at mile 9.9, but if it doesn’t work … then it’s walkety-walk-walk and still be proud of myself for getting off my ass, listening to myself and actually doing what I was told to do! I got to thinking about the world “failure” and how much fear is associated with it. It’s like you either do or fail and there is no middle ground. I have to keep myself in check on this one. For some reason, I’ve discovered the wiring that every damn good achievement gets wiped out with one stumble. I know I caught myself looking at my watch for my time when it binged for 10K … because that’s my next race and fortunately the little box that said Lap 10 (meaning 10K) obscured the time … “Hey Dizzy … this is training not racing and the first time you’ve done any decent distance reasonably healthy this entire year! BACK OFF YOURSELF!” I laughed. I also realized that the bottom little toe on my right side felt like it might have a blister. I laughed really hard then because I truly thought I was only doing maybe 4 or 5 miles due to the pain of the morning and I didn’t put any Body Glide on my feet!

So – Mile 9.9 hit right in the middle of a bloody hell hill on the roadway with wind in my face, but it felt good to try racewalk form again so zippety doo dah! I was camping out in that 5-6 pain, so I knew I would have to take it easy.

The last three miles, I won’t kid you, were hell for me. I know that I’ve not been eating really well (a lot to do with just how much can I eat without chewing), but the wind and knowledge that there were going to be more up hills than down hills coming up just was … well … I had to get to the car, eh? My chocolate protein bar was in there! I did whatever it took to get up the bloody hell hills. This course might be good for events with hills, especially at the very end, but I know it was a smidge too ambitious for me right now. Ok … I did it and it wasn’t pretty …. but I was far from crippled too.

I felt tired but … good!

2:52:06 for 13.1 miles according to my Garmin. Ok … probably faster than I should have gone, but I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to pace. I’m trying to feel good about training, feel my aches and pains, correct them on the fly and toodle on down the road. Love or hate a Garmin, I had mine set to beep if I spent time under 12:30 or over 14:00. It didn’t make a lot of noise, not that I probably could have heard it anyway!

At the end of the workout, I hiked up to the car. Ok – the route was a bit too ambitious, but I did it. My average pace was something in the 13’s. Ok. I feel tired, but pretty good and not beaten up. All I wanted to do was get home, take a shower … and a nap. By the time I got home, however, the nap thing was out of the question, but lying down, having snacks, and reading — all under the watchful eye of Ms. Coach Bailey Boo … was do-able. Yup – I’ve got a little toe just covered on the pad by a nasty blood blister. Yeah, the bottoms of my feet hurt. My right calf is down at a manageable level 3 pain and my knee a 2. I am OK with this.